The present invention relates generally to cargo bodies and, more particularly, to cargo bodies with vertical posts in their side walls.
A wide variety of conveyances are known for carrying cargo. Van-type semi trailers, for example, typically include a deck assembly supported by a side wall structure, wheels and front legs. The deck assembly may include longitudinal floor boards and transverse cross-members, such as I-beams, extending between opposing bottom rails. The deck transfers its load to the bottom rails, wheels and, depending upon whether the trailer is coupled to a tractor or is free-standing, to a tractor fifth wheel or to retractable front legs on the trailer. The side wall structure of a van-type trailer also supports some of the load, much in the same way that the trusses of a bridge support the load of a roadway. This allows for the floor to be somewhat lighter, resulting in a reduction in the trailer's overall weight.
In a monocoque-type trailer, individual interior side wall panel members and an outer wall are joined together, often by a post, channel or zee-shaped structural member, and to a suspension subframe to form a self-supporting body construction. The outer wall and inner panel members may carry some of the stresses between the posts, floor and roof of the trailer. For example, it is known for the interior panels and the outer wall to attach to a plurality of vertical posts spaced apart along the trailer side wall. It is known to place logistics tracks on the front faces of the vertical posts to provide a place of attachment for straps, hooks and bars to secure cargo in the cargo area between the side walls. In the roof wall of such a trailer, it is known to provide a top outer skin that extends between, and is riveted to, opposing side wall top rails. A plurality of parallel, horizontal roofbows extend between the top rails beneath the top outer skin. It is known to provide inner liner panels, for example one-quarter inch plywood sheets, between the roofbows so that the roof liner panels define the top of the cargo area. Logistics tracks have been attached to the roofbows. Where inner liner panels are present in the roof wall, the logistics tracks have been attached directly to respective roofbows between edges of adjacent liner panels or surface mounted to the liner panels themselves.
A container is a box-like structure with sidewalls, a floor, a roof, a forward end wall and an end frame on which two doors are pivotally attached. The container rests on a chassis formed by one or more longitudinal I-beams extending between retractable legs and a plurality of axled wheels. The wheels support the container's rearward end and facilitate the container's movement when the container (supported by the chassis) is coupled to a tractor. As should be well understood, the container is removable from the chassis for conveyance by other means, such as ship or rail.